London is the most dangerous capital in the European Union in which to live, a survey of crime in the EU has found.

More than three in 10 respondents had been a victim either of theft or assault in the city during 2004, according to the report. Lisbon emerged as the safest EU capital, with 10 per cent of people affected by crime.

The rising affluence of some London residents was a reason for the city’s increasing crime levels, according to one of the report’s authors.

The survey, conducted by a consortium including Gallup and UN agency Unicri, asked 1,200 citizens in each country about their experiences of crime, rather than using official police data.

Its authors acknowledged the figures identified in the study varied widely from the numbers of crimes recorded by police.

According to the survey of 18 of the EU’s 25 countries, London was more dangerous than Istanbul or New York.

The UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark were the leading crime hotspots. However, levels of “common crime” such as vehicle theft, burglary and assault, continue to fall across the EU.

Fifteen per cent of European citizens were a victim of common crime in 2004, against 21 per cent in 1995, the study found. Yet three in 10 Europeans did not feel safe on the streets.

Crime in the UK overall was decreasing from 1995, but not as fast as in the rest of the EU. Britain was the most burgled country in the EU, although it had more burglar alarms than any country except Ireland.

The report covered 15 “old” EU countries, as well as newer members Poland, Hungary and Estonia.